The fourth and fifth days were much more hazardous. We encountered several larger parties of demons, as well as one greater demon who had killed a lone mage. The dead human was a man, and a sorcerer; our hunt for Zia was not ended so suddenly as that. When we came upon the monstrous creature it was nearly dead from wounds dealt by the sorcerer, and was unable to flee or fight. Though injured, it was defiant, and it sat in the ruins of the sorcerer's camp, toying with his severed head. We obliterated the demon, sending five arcs of lightning into its chest at once, and left the dead sorcerer beside the smoking remains of his killer. There was no time for a burial, in this savage land.

Other battles during those days were not so easy, and Maester Corwyn lost two fingers on his left hand to the snapping jaws of some sort of armored attack beast. I cauterized the stumps and bandaged him as best I could, and we fought on. By sundown we were exhausted, ensanguined, and glad to make camp near a small contingent of foot soldiers and the pair of female archers who led them. They were amazing warriors, their skill such that they could send forth arrows with perfect accuracy, arrows that exploded upon impact, sending out waves of fire or shocking blasts of lightning that ravaged the demonic hordes.

That fifth night is this night, and as I finish my reminiscences the fire has burned low, and three of my fellows are asleep. One stands watch with the foot soldiers; I know not which of the four, for the sleeping three are bundled tightly within their robes, and I did not see the fourth go. I must sleep, for it will soon be my turn to stand watch, but I can not close my eyes. All my thoughts are of Zia. I am curious what she looks like and how she has grown in her time alone, but mostly I think of her as she was -- an innocent, curious, friendly, engaging child.

She entered my school with the brightest future imaginable, and left in darkness, streaked with the blood of her fellow students. That failure is my greatest sin, and one I fear I may not live to make amends for.